The use of two or more materials can be necessary, for example, in order to fulfill different functions that are enabled by different material properties (structure, strength, density, e-module, surface roughness, etc.).
Such components frequently only being needed in small batches/small amounts are at present expensively manufactured by standard machining methods (screwing, welding, casting, bonding, etc.). These components are frequently also customized, difficult to process and therefore expensive.
Current processing methods (turning, milling, grinding, etc.) allow for no optimal design, in particular, with components conveying media, especially with ducts, tubes, valves, nozzles, etc., in particular when undercuts are necessary or special radii/geometries for a flow-optimized design. Realization of functional surfaces is also difficult, this frequently requires complex coating and finishing processing steps. The latter in the food processing or bottling field poses inter alia high demands on coatings in terms of abrasion resistance and/or durability against partly aggressive cleaning agents and on food safety.
Though the use of additive rapid prototyping methods for the production of components is becoming more widespread, such as in the aerospace industry (see WO2010/056705A2) and also in the field of the packaging industry (e.g. DE102006050396A1 describing a food processing and/or packaging machine with rapid prototyping components), in the field of container manufacturing and container treatment systems, however, in particular with stretch blow molding machines, the use of such methods is not known.